Listen to Ozzy Osbourne and the late Lemmy Kilmister duet on new version of ‘Hellraiser’
Ozzy Osbourne has shared a new version of ‘Hellraiser’ featuring a duet with late Motörhead frontman Lemmy.
The track, which features on the expanded 30th anniversary reissue of Osbourne’s ‘No More Tears’ album out this Friday (September 17), welds the two singers voices together for a touching new tribute.
Lemmy, who died in 2015, co-wrote ‘Hellraiser’ with Osbourne for the latter’s 1991 album. Motörhead later recorded their own version of the song and released it as a single from their 1992 album ‘March Ör Die’.
Ozzy explained in a statement that the new version was made in memory of his friend. “I hope everyone enjoys the song,” Osbourne said in a press release. “This is just a small way to honour my friend Lemmy. Sharon and I talk a lot about how much we miss him.”
The new version of ‘Hellraiser’ appears on the digital reissue of ‘No More Tears’ but not the vinyl release.
In addition to the original ‘No More Tears’ album and a handful of demos, hits such as ‘I Don’t Want To Change The World’, ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home’, ‘Road To Nowhere’, and the title track will all appear on the expanded edition as live recordings from Osbourne’s ‘No More Tours’ tour in 1992.
Meanwhile, Weezer’s ‘Hash Pipe’ was almost an Ozzy Osbourne song instead, according to the band’s frontman Rivers Cuomo.
Speaking to Guitar World earlier this year, Cuomo said that the song nearly had a very different home. “Once, I think it was in 2000, [Ozzy Osbourne] asked if I had any songs for him and I just happened to have written ‘Hash Pipe.’”
Instead of keeping the track for his own band, Cuomo first offered it to the Black Sabbath legend. “He didn’t end up using it,” the Weezer star explained. “In another reality, it might be interesting to hear him singing that song.”